HarveyG

Isn’t she beautiful….! 4am-10am photo shoot with Camerastuff to Capital Park Pretoria and Friends of the Rail who unstintingly restore and maintain a few of what’s left of our National Heritage Steamers in their private capacity with no government and very little private sector funding. I am happy to pay a measly R150-00 for a mornings shoot. FOTR were very accommodating, running Engine 2650 back and forth so that about 60 of us could get some awesome shots.

Thanks to our culture-less management at Transnet who have taken over 15 years to finally wake up and “might” now begin pushing restoration and preservation work for steam tourism. A bit late, as over 90% of our steamers have been plundered and turned into scrap at various grave yards around the country.

Shot with a Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 EX DG for Nikon

Cheugnette-SAR 19D #2650 - 2 (c) HarveyG Photography 2010

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Those people who zoom drive past a bird in a tree in a park (like the KNP) don’t know what they are missing. Sure Rollers are relatively common, like the Lilac-breasted Roller, that is. This Roller is different. It’s the first time I’ve seen a Purple Roller. I parked the car at an angle so that I could get comfortable with the cameras, idled for 30 seconds, switched off the engine after he got accustomed to us/the car. He took off after a few minutes and caught himself lunch. He then returned to the same spot and gave us a wonderful display. Next time you see a bird in the KNP, hang around a bit…

Shot with a Sigma 170-500mm f/5-6.3 APO Aspherical for Nikon

Purple Roller - Coracias naevius (c) HarveyG Photography 2010

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I am a Wildlife Photographer. I prefer it. It’s a passion.

Perhaps I don’t get out as much as NG photog’s but hey, I do what I can when I can. This stork was spotted by my wife at 100° behind the car and high up in a tree in the KNP after we had driven past it unnoticed. She is an excellent spotter. Just as I managed to turn around and get the car parked in a suitable spot, he took off. I watched him and he circled, and came back to land a short while later on the same branch offering me a better view. There must have been 1/2 dozen other cars that just drove past, seeing a “bird” and not interested, their loss

Wooly-necks aren’t very common. It’s my first sighting of one in almost 30 years of visiting the KNP.

Shot with a Sigma 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 APO Macro for Nikon

Wooly-necked Stork - Ciconia episcopus (c) HarveyG Photography 2010

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